Troubled productions: hits and misses

Jacob Cohl / Associated Press

By Emily Christianson, Patrick Kevin Day, Todd Martens, Jevon Phillips and Scott Sandell, Los Angeles Times Few productions have experienced the setbacks of Julie Taymor's "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" musical on Broadway. Actors have sustained injuries; the opening date has been pushed back multiple times; critics have panned it during previews; a script doctor has been brought in for some retooling; and, just this week, director Taymor stepped down from daily operations. And yet, with $65 million already invested in the production and more than $1 million in weekly running costs, the show must go on, lest its producers take a huge bath. Of course, trouble does not always translate to failure in the end, as a look at past productions will tell you. Click through for a look at ones that pulled through similar troubles and those that failed.

By Emily Christianson, Patrick Kevin Day, Todd Martens, Jevon Phillips and Scott Sandell, Los Angeles Times Few productions have experienced the setbacks of Julie Taymor's "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" musical on Broadway. Actors have sustained injuries; the opening date has been pushed back multiple times; critics have panned it during previews; a script doctor has been brought in for some retooling; and, just this week, director Taymor stepped down from daily operations. And yet, with $65 million already invested in the production and more than $1 million in weekly running costs, the show must go on, lest its producers take a huge bath. Of course, trouble does not always translate to failure in the end, as a look at past productions will tell you. Click through for a look at ones that pulled through similar troubles and those that failed. (Jacob Cohl / Associated Press)

Throughout the fall of 74, there were grim dispatches from the set. The production, led by director Steven Spielberg, in Marthas Vineyard was beset by weather issues and a balky mechanical shark nicknamed Bruce that threatened to sink the movies credibility. To hide the mechanical shark, Spielberg and company took the approach of what you dont see is scarier than what you do see and used music, point-of-view tricks and even floating barrels to suggest the shark without giving a good look at the ocean predator. It went on to become the first film to surge past the $100-million box-office mark.

Throughout the fall of 74, there were grim dispatches from the set. The production, led by director Steven Spielberg, in Marthas Vineyard was beset by weather issues and a balky mechanical shark nicknamed Bruce that threatened to sink the movies credibility. To hide the mechanical shark, Spielberg and company took the approach of what you dont see is scarier than what you do see and used music, point-of-view tricks and even floating barrels to suggest the shark without giving a good look at the ocean predator. It went on to become the first film to surge past the $100-million box-office mark. (Louis Goldman / AMPAS)